SWAT team fires shots while arresting disturbed man barricaded in Eindhoven home

By Janene Pieters on August 17, 2017 - 07:55
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Members of a Dutch police SWAT team (Stock Photo: Politie). (Members of a Dutch police SWAT team (Stock Photo: Politie))

A SWAT team fired several shots while arresting a disturbed and aggressive man who barricaded himself in a home on Frederiklaan in Eindhoven on Wednesday. The suspect was injured and was taken to hospital for treatment, Eindhovens Dagblad reports.

The suspect did some damage to a neighbor's home and threatened the neighbors with an axe and knife on Wednesday afternoon. He then fled into his own home, threw dozens of boxes through the window and locked himself in. 

The police, with a negotiator and SWAT team, arrived at the scene. The negotiator tried to talk to the man from his garden, while police officers kept local residents at a distance. But it was to no avail - the man refused to come out. Around 6:30 p.m. the SWAT team blew open the door and went in to arrest the man. Shots were fired and the man was injured.

A police spokesperson could not say anything about the severity of the man's injuries, according to ED. Paramedics treated him at the scene, after which he was taken to hospital by ambulance.

A woman was also present in the house while this happened. She was brought outside wearing a blindfold. She was unharmed. According to the spokesperson, she was not being held hostage and is not a suspect. 

The violence followed a discussion the man had with his neighbor across their wall on Wednesday. According to the neighbor, he seemed to be confused and kept shouting about "world leaders" and "god", she said to the newspaper. When she said something back, he threw an iron pole over the fence. The woman locked herself into her house and watched through the window as the man walked up to her home with an axe. She called the police. 

The man's been making a ruckus for weeks, she said to Eindhovens Dagblad. "But this came out of nowhere."

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